With the recent 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing having left its mark on the industry, we’re still wading through the rash of new moon phase complications released around July 20th to either celebrate or capitalize on the fuzzy nostalgia of humankind’s greatest journey. Next up is the MeisterSinger Lunascope Gold watch, which uses a “big moon” complication that dominates the top half of the dial. This is the third Lunascope to join the collection.
One of the most enjoyable things about this recent run on moon phase watches is comparing how different brands present the same information (quite often with the same underlying movement, or at least movement architecture) in different ways. For example, the MeisterSinger Lunascpe Gold uses effectively the same dial-side modifications as the recently released Christopher Ward C1 Moonglow watch (with the only mechanical difference being MeisterSinger’s use of a single hand as opposed to Christoper Ward’s three).
Even the date, despite the fact they look totally different, is effectively the same. The beauty of this exercise is how apparent it makes the importance of design. Whenever you hear a non-watch-lover deriding the complexities and nuances of watch design with a quip that, in some way, sounds like “It’s a watch. It tells the time. How hard can it be?” show them the MeisterSinger Lunascope Gold and the Christopher Ward C1 Moonglow and see what they say.
The MeisterSinger Lunascope Gold watch is, by far, the more traditional. With its rich, regal blue and gold color scheme, it very much outshines the austere and contemporary C1 Moonglow in terms of visual impact. And while the moonglow attempts to wow onlookers with its sneakily sublime date execution, the MeisterSinger is noticeable for its iconic single hand. Simply put, the conversation that can be started by sitting these two watches side-by-side is the kind of mental exercise many watch collectors live for.
So what are the technical credentials of the MeisterSinger Lunascope Gold? The case is 40mm in diameter and made from stainless steel. It has an anti-reflective sapphire crystal (slightly domed), and a screw-down exhibition caseback, which guarantees water-resistance to 50 meters. The movement is an automatic Swiss-made ETA 2836 with a power reserve of 38 hours. A dial-side moon phase module will remain accurate to within one day every 128 years if the watch remains wound. The MeisterSinger Lunascope Gold watch will retail for £3,290. For more information, visit meistersinger.com.
